The Redemption of a Fallen Knight
by Apocalyptic Strife
Summary: The rating is for the swearing. Otherwise, I will not include sex or any such material. Just mere reference at the most. This is an after the ending fic, read at your own peril for this is my first.
1. A New Beginning

The Redemption of a Fallen Knight  
  
Chapter 1: A New Beginning  
*6 months after the Ending*  
  
Setting out on his daily jog from the Garden to the local town of Balamb with only a backpack, Squall Leonheart, newly assigned captain of the SeeD Special Task Force (STF) and savior of the world, swiftly ran his first kilometre. Squall was so accustomed to this route that he could have ran it with his eyes closed but he knew better then that…trust nothing…that was his motto… It had only been 10 years ago when he was left alone by the girl he cherished most, his legally half-sister Ellone. Since then, he had experienced many hardships weather it be loneliness or his pure dislike for socializing. All the problems he had come across had been solved by himself; everything was done by himself. Squall had to admit that reverting to a normal everyday teenager from anti-social lone wolf would virtually be impossible. That was what he thought before he met Rinoa. She had changed his life and as Quistis had said "Pried open the shell he had hid himself in."  
  
As the town of Balamb soon came into view, Squall slowed down his pace to a more standard military marching rhythm…dripping with sweat, Squall proceeded into the town and went into one of the public showers for a quick cooldown…   
  
*15 minutes later*  
  
On his way back to Balamb Garden, Squall noticed that he was being followed and frantically wished he had his gunblade right now. With his back still turned Squall shouted 'Whose there?!"  
"Don't worry Squally boy…I'm not here to hurt you…" replied a familiar voice  
Squall frowned and turned around and saw his archrival Seifer…as confident as ever…with Hyperion drawn. "What do you want Seifer!?" he said between his teeth.  
"Listen Squall…" he took a few steps forward only to see Squall get into a defensive crouching stance…  
"I suggest you don't get any closer Almasy…"   
"Look Leonheart…I need to talk to you!" and with that Seifer emptied Hyperion of its ammo and dropped it. He than took off his grey coat and it too went to the ground. "Look…I got nothing to hide! No sneaky backstabbing assassin shit. I just want to talk to you Squall…if you won't listen…no one will!"  
"What is it Seifer? Found a new sorceress to team up with?" Squall snapped back…with a little less anger.   
  
With that Squall saw something that surprised him so much that he nearly fell over…Seifer picked up his gunblade and started going into a frenzy, and started shouting "DAMNIT! I JUST WANT TO BE A SeeD! I'VE FAILED IN EVERYTHING I'VE DONE! I just want to have a second chance! I've lost everything….everything…can't you take me to see Cid…I don't need a guarantee…I just need to try one more time…and ask for forgiveness….damnit…"  
With that Squall took a moment to think and remembered Edea or Matron's words "Seifer was no ordinary boy…he was somewhat troubled." Squall sighed and said "Quit being a chicken wuss and put yourself together…it's a long walk back…"  
Seifer regained his composure and in a humble voice said "Eh..thanks…thanks…Squall….for giving me a chance to be a man again…"  
"Whatever…" replied Squall in his usual emotionless tone  
  
*Back at the Garden*  
  
When Squall walked into the Garden, the SeeD cadets all gave him a respectful salute but many failed to hide their shock when they saw Seifer. For the first time in his life, Seifer felt rather deflated, without his usually confident ego…he was well…a weakling? No…he couldn't look like this in front of the people he knew and grew up with and after a deep breathe he snarled "What the Hell are you staring at?"   
With that the cadets started to disperse and Seifer continued to follow Squall up the stairs towards the lifts that would take him up to Headmaster Cid's office, a place he had visited so many times in his youth…more for detentions than anything else…he let out a sigh at his memories and followed…  
  
Twenty minutes later…all Hell was let loose in Cid's office…Zell….much to the dismay of everyone refused to be in Seifer's presence and tried attacking him. Quistis, Irvine, Nida and Xu literally jumped at Zell pinning him down while he shouted "YOU BASTARD! GET THE HELL OUTTA THIS GARDEN YOU PRICK!"  
Caught off guard Seifer couldn't help it and snapped back "So…the chickenwuss has finally grown some balls eh??"   
"Seifer…if you are to expect any respect…you will earn it!" shouted Cid "AND Zell…what did I tell you at graduation about controlling your emotions?"  
"Sorry sir…" replied Seifer and Zell in unison.  
"Very well…now…I…well actually…Squall and I, had decided before you were all called in here that Seifer is to be given one more chance to become a SeeD…with that…I also expect him to join the Special Task Force in due time…his role in the force will be up to Squall to decide when the time comes…for now, Seifer, you will stay up here in a room Edea has prepared for you…we will start the testing tomorrow…be warned Seifer…I will not tolerate ANY misbehavior."  
With that Seifer gave Cid a salute a followed Edea to his room leaving some members of the SeeD STF still confused.  
"I still can't believe it…Seifer back with us?" murmured Quistis  
Zell started having a fit and started yelling at the top of his lungs"I wanna kick that guy's *** and see how much of a wuss HE is…why I'LL…"  
"ENOUGH! DAMNIT! He deserves a chance too you know!" shouted Squall  
"Squall…out of all people…why are you showing sympathy for Seifer?" asked Rinoa  
"It's…because...he's desperate…" whispered Squall  
"But still! Seifer actually didn't attack you!??!" screamed Selphie while jumping up and down. "I don't believe it!!!!!!!"  
"Me neither…but he kinda shocked me…but I guess…he shouldn't be blamed…he was under "HER" influence…" replied Squall "But…I think we better get going…I need to go supervise the new cadets…they've got underwater training today…"   
With that, everyone headed their own way…except for Rinoa who was following Squall back to his dorm, knowing that today was an off-day for SeeD cadets…  
  
*In Squall's Dorm*  
  
Feeling a little nervous…Rinoa put her arms around Squall. She had noticed the worried look in his eyes and was even more suspicious when she heard him lie. "Squall…what's bothering you?" she asked  
Putting his arms around her and pulling her closer to him…Squall sighed and replied "I dunno…it just feels weird to suddenly have Seifer act so …so….desperate!"  
"Go on…tell me more Squall…" she whispered into his ear  
"Well…he like literally begged me…damnit! He was a nervous wreck!" Squall nearly shouted   
"Well…people change Squall…not everyone can live life alone, without friends, Seifer, as tough as he acts is actually a very lonely guy, he just acts cocky to hide it all. I'm happy you gave him a chance." Rinoa answered gripping on to him tighter  
"Yeah…but was it the right choice Rinoa?" asked Squall with a worried tone.  
"I guess we'll just have to wait and see." Rinoa said as she buried her head into Squall's jacket  
  
*A week later*  
  
"Well Squall…seems like Seifer is still as good as he used to be! He's got one of the highest scores in SeeD history…and that merits him…umm…a beginning rank of 17!" exclaimed Cid happily  
"Umm…sir…exactly how well did he do?" asked Squall with a hint of suspicion  
"Hmm…He passed hand-to-hand combat perfectly…Quistis says his knowledge on GF and magic junctioning is still perfect and Edea reports that his magic abilities are still limited but can be improved easily with practice. As for his gunblade skills, they were tested by you and there seems to be no injury this time…" said Cid with his eyes glued to all of Seifer's documents and folders.  
"Well…there were some close moments where he was slow…but his Demon Slice and Burning Cross limit breaks are still as good as they used to be." Replied Squall with a sigh while feeling the scar he received oh so long ago.  
"Is there something wrong Squall?" asked Cid as he took off his glasses  
"Well yes there is sir…I've yet to see whether Seifer can get along with the rest of the group. Being the task force for this Garden…we have to be at full compatibility with each other…or else the objective of a mission may be at risk of being compromised due to inner feuds and my emotions have nothing to do with this sir." Said Squall in a grave voice  
Cid chuckled and said "Yea…the typical line. Listen…here's a plan I have put together…tomorrow you will be…"   



	2. First Mission Chaos

Chapter 2: First Mission Chaos  
  
*9:00 AM in Headmaster Cid's Office*  
  
Cid started the briefing as soon as the whole team was assembled "I sure hope you all have had a good nights sleep because this mission is of great importance. As all of you know, the to superpowers of the world, Galbadia and Esthar, have been at war against each other for many years. Today's meeting will be held at the President's Residence at Deling City. President Laguna of Esthar will be meeting with Galbadia's newly appointed leader…"   
"Excuse me sir…but exactly who succeeded President Vinzer Deling?" asked Rinoa  
With a look of shock on his face Cid replied "You don't know Rinoa? Why I thought your father would tell you this…"  
"MY WHAT!?!?!!?!?" cried Rinoa  
"Your father…he's the new president of Galbadia…as you know Rinoa, General Caraway is well respected among the people and the army and since most of Galbadia's men are soldiers, it was only decent for the new leader to be well aware of the military situation… Now, back to the objective of this mission. This will be the first of two meetings between the two presidents. The next meeting will be held in Esthar two weeks later. If successful, Galbadia and Esthar will sign a peace deal and soon merge their armies to become one huge force. Galbadia will be responsible for protecting the West half of the world while Esthar the East side. However, should these talks fail, we may risk having another war between these two powers so it is your responsibility as Balamb Garden's task force to ensure security is tight and that no one compromises this meeting. There will be three teams. The sniper team, the Esthar guard and the Galbadia guard. Squall and I have already decided on the teams. Irvine and Selphie are to be the sniper team and they will be posted here." Said Cid pointing to a 3D replica of Deling City's clocktower. "The other two teams will be led by the captain and vice-captain respectively. Squall being the captain will lead the Esthar guard. Meanwhile, the vice-captain will lead the Galbadia guard…"  
"OH YEAH!!!!!!!!!" yelled Zell "Who's in my team?!?!?"  
"Umm…sorry Zell…" said Squall in a sheepish voice "But you're not the one chosen for vice-captain…"  
"YOU DID WHAT!!!!!!!! AWW MAN!!!!!!!!" Zell cried out as he punched the floor, shaking the whole room  
"Then who DID you appoint Squall?" asked Rinoa  
"Uh well…it wasn't really totally my choice…." Muttered Squall  
"He chose me." Said Seifer in as calm of a voice he could manage.  
"Oh boy….." moaned Irvine with his hand covering his face  
"This can't be good…" muttered Xu  
"YOU LITTLE PRICK!!!!!!!!!!!! I'LL KILL YOU!!!!!!!" screamed Zell as he lunged towards Seifer only to be held back by Xu and Irvine  
Seifer just stood there with his arms crossed and stared out the window. He knew this would happen. As much as Cid liked him coming back…no one…not even Squall or Rinoa were overly eager to see him. Especially the chicken wuss, he was still as unforgiving as ever. Meanwhile, all he got so far were cold stares from Xu…he wondered why…he'd never done anything to her…oh well…sure…he had stared at her a bit on the Dollet mission but who wouldn't? She was after all very pretty, intelligent and quiet. The type of girl Seifer admired…  
"Look we ought to give Seifer a chance….carry on Headmaster Cid." Said Quistis with a glare at Zell  
With a quick glare of warning at Zell, Cid continued, "Ok…well…as I was saying…Squall's team will include Zell and Rinoa. Seifer's team will be Quistis and Xu. I expect you all to be at your best behavior. You will all be expected to wear SeeD uniforms except for the sniper team who will have to dress in camouflage. I suggest you bring a change of casual clothing as you will later accompany Presidents Caraway and Loire on the tour around Deling. The meeting starts at exactly noon so I suggest you leave the Garden by 10:00 AM for the town of Balamb where you will take a train to Timber before transferring to a train to Deling. Any questions?"   
"NO SIR!" they all said in unison  
"Very well…then you are dismissed" replied Cid  
  
*In Seifer's Dorm*  
  
Seifer sat at the edge of his bed…slowly polishing his SeeD boots and his beloved gunblade Hyperion, the strongest gunblade and only equaled by Squall's Lionheart. Finished with his packing and preparations, Seifer let out a huge sigh. It felt funny to be sitting in his old dorm again and even stranger to be wearing a SeeD uniform. Suddenly a knock on the door snapped Seifer back to reality and a very familiar voice started shouting from the other side of the door "Yo Seifer?!!? You in there man? It's Raijin ya know! OWW!!! And Fujin too…..damnit you didn't need to kick me sis…OW!!!!!!"  
"How's my posse?" Seifer said with a smile as he opened the door  
"Hey Seifer! You came back!" said Raijin in his usual cheerful mood  
"LOOKING GOOD!" said Fujin after a quick look at Seifer's uniform  
Seifer tried to not blush "Yeah…thanks Fujin…but I gotta go… mission ya know…don't wanna disappoint. See you guys later?"  
"No problemo man!" answered Raijin  
"PROMISE?" asked Fujin  
"Yeah…I Seifer Almasy promise my former posse that I will treat them to lunch at the Garden café after the mission! Seeya guys!" chuckled Seifer in his usual cocky tone  
  
*Deling City 10:30 AM*  
  
"Zell…leave Seifer alone…" groaned Quistis "He hasn't called you chickenwuss so what's there to be hyper about?"  
"GRR…He's up to somethin!!!! I just know it!" exclaimed Zell with his arms waving around in the air  
"Whatever…" groaned Squall "Let's just get to the President's Residence…."  
"Get a move on it chick…I mean Zell." Said Seifer in a taunting tone  
"JUST SAY IT DAMNIT!!! I'M SICK AND TIRED OF HEARING "CHICK" OR "WUSS"!!! " Zell screamed  
"If that's your wish chickenwuss…" chuckled Seifer  
"JUST SHUTUP WILL YOU?" Yelled Squall  
"Oh boy…they pissed off the leader…" groaned Quistis  
"Ehh…Squall…umm…I guess me and Sephie will just go to the sniper perch…come on Sephie!!!!" said Irvine hastily while grabbing Selphie  
"YIKES!!! SLOW DOWN!!!" screamed Selphie as the two disappeared out of sight.  
"Ok…Rinoa…I think you should go see your father and then rendez-vous with me and Zell at President Loire's hotel room…" said Squall  
"SQUALL!!!!!!!! YOU KNOW I WON'T DO THAT!" screamed Rinoa as she tugged at Squall's uniform  
"Rinoa…I need you to be on good terms with your dad on this mission …I don't want a family feud to botch this one up!" said Squall with a frown "Listen...LAST TIME your little feud resulted in us nearly messing the whole frigin mission up...if it wasn't for Instructor Trepe's quick finding of the secret passage we'd be all dead! You WILL go see your father. You cannot deny the fact that his blood runs in you veins..."  
"HUMPH! Fine then! Be that way! I'll go see him! But don't expect anything Squall!" said Rinoa before she walked off  
"Hmm…she's got a worst temper then before…" said Seifer with a playful grin  
"Shutup Seifer" said Xu, the first time she said anything to Seifer since his return  
"Why I'm touched Instructor Xu…you finally spoke to me! Perhaps my charm is finally getting to you..." Seifer replied with his usual cocky tone added with his haughty pose  
"IT WAS AN ORDER! HUMPH!" shouted Xu before she spun around and walked away with Quistis following her trying to calm her down  
"You sure got a way with women…" muttered Zell  
"Much better then you chickenwuss!" retorted Seifer  
"At least I GOT a girlfriend!" shouted Zell  
"What now? A Miss Chickenwuss? Or Chickenwussy?!?!?! HAHHAHA" laughed Seifer  
"YOU BASTARD! YOU FRIGIN LOST RINOA TO SQUALL FROM RIGHT UNDER YOUR LITTLE NOSE! screamed Zell at the top of his lungs, but soon he wished he hadn't said that as it seemed to have a deep affect on Seifer. Soon, Seifer was deflated again…with a sad look on his face, which he tried to hide by staring at the ground and especially away from Squall and Zell  
"Zell that wasn't called for!" said Squall with a stern voice before he whispered harshly "And I never stole Rinoa you idiot!"  
"Ehh…sorry Seifer…" muttered Zell with a look that showed no worry just a frustration from being ordered to apologize  
"It's OK chicken wuss…I'll just head to the Presidential Residence…seeya…" Seifer whispered  
"Nice going hot shot…" moaned Squall "Now you see why I forgave him?"  
"Yeah…who the Hell would think Seifer would get depressed so easily?" murmured Zell   
"As Rinoa says…people change…but it's more because he's failed at everything…you and Xu should ease off on him, we all gotta give him a chance to redeem himself and forget all his past crimes…even me…" said Squall as he slowly proceeded towards the hotel  



End file.
